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by Ndinae Netshivhangoni, Department of Rural Development and Land Reform

Survey of property boundaries is always done prior to the transfer of land in terms of the Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act (TRANCRAA) to ensure that the land in question is not subjected to any encroachment, people tampering with boundaries, beacons, and so forth. Subsequent to this the service of a land surveyor […]

Say what you will about the past few years, it has produced some useful tools for the surveyor. First, lidar technology made it possible to collect high-density 3D data with spectacular speed, so that now almost any surveyor can afford a terrestrial lidar scanner. This has created a large new market as customers find […]

This article will investigate which portions of The Great Wall(s) of China were mainly erected as boundary demarcations and which put up as protection. It will also attempt to highlight early techniques and equipment used by the Chinese surveyors of antiquity. Due to the magnitude of its extent, The Great Wall of China is […]

The St. Helena International Airport construction project represents a historic milestone for one of the most remote islands in the world. Over R3-billion has been allocated for the project which encompasses a 1850 m concrete runway with taxiway and apron; an approximately 8-million m3 rockfill embankment through which a 750 m long reinforced concrete […]

When searching for a cost-effective, safe and accurate hydrographic survey solution that needs to be available on demand, a remote control survey boat is the ideal platform. This article explains how radio controlled unmanned boats work as a survey platform and provides details on the hydro survey system, echo sounder accuracies, the aerial and […]

This article takes a look at some of the ways in which, I and others, have screwed up our hydrographic surveys, such as using a bad multibeam mounting, surveying in dynamic conditions without a motion reference unit (MRU), ignoring dynamic draft, confusing Depth Below Surface (DBS) and Depth Below Transducer (DBT), and others. There are […]

This article demonstrates the value of geo-monitoring using examples of imagery provided by the Airbus Defence & Space constellation of radar and optical earth observation satellites. Addressing basic principles for prosperity such as education, leadership, political stability, health, population growth management, infrastructure, management of resources, industrialisation of products, and attracting investment, are all stepping […]

An ambitious project in Moscow has used Topcon’s IP-S2 Compact+ mobile mapping system to map around 6000 km of roads to produce 3D panoramas for public web portals and special GIS projects. The project “3D Panoramas of Moscow City” has been carried out by two partner companies – IT Geo and HelgiLab. IT Geo has […]

The theory of mine call factor (MCF) compares the sum of metal produced in recovery plus residue to the metal called for by the mines evaluation methods expressed as a percentage. The concept is well known in underground mining scenarios and therefore this article highlights some MCF issues from a surface mine perspective using […]

When searching for a cost-effective, accurate aerial survey solution that needs to be available on demand, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is the ideal platform. This article explains how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) work as a survey platform providing details on the photogrammetry process, volume accuracies, time savings, and how they can contribute to […]